SpaceX pulled off a successful launch of its mega rocket Starship on Tuesday, deploying its first batch of eight dummy satellites in space.
Starship blasted off from SpaceX's launch site in South Texas, known as Starbase, just after 6:30PM. After cruising in space for just over an hour, the rocket splashed down into the Indian Ocean, as planned.
The spacecraft's Super Heavy Booster separated from the Starship upper stage three minutes after launch and also successfully returned for a pre-planned splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico in the Atlantic.
No crew were on board of the demo launch, but Musk's ultimate goal is for the spacecraft to deliver people and cargo to the moon, and eventually also Mars.
The billionaire has repeatedly said his vision is for a fully reusable space vehicle that can do repeat return trips without crews as soon as 2026. He then aims for a space crew to be aboard in 2029.
Later this decade, NASA hopes two Starships will land astronauts on the moon.
Success after several failed attempts
The mission marked the 10th test flight for the world's largest and most powerful rocket, breaking a streak of previously failed attempts.
The full Starship spacecraft exploded on its inaugural test flight in 2023, and again during tests in January and March. In the last and ninth attempt in May, the spacecraft tumped out of control and broke apart.
This time, SpaceX redesigned the Super Heavy Booster with larger and stronger fings for greater stability.
